Night Call provides some compelling everyday stories wrapped under a neo-noir narrative game. At the end of the day (no pun intended), it succeeds in showcasing the everyday life heroes (however big or small) of a large city and their concerns.

There really should be more games like Night Call out there. It tries something unique and succeeds at it, delivering compelling short stories through a limited yet meaningful interaction and wrapped up in a classy aesthetic. The game shows humanism and wisdom that the billion-dollar titles can only dream of.

Night Call is interesting in ways most games aren’t. It’s a game that humanizes people that usually get mockery. It’s so good at this that it overshadows the serial killer stuff. It can lose its steam thanks to some repetitive gameplay, but its shorter length prevents it from dragging on. Its design choices will turn away action-oriented players, but it’s a pleasant surprise if you want more compassion in your crime fiction.

Night Call’s real strength is in the stories it tells about Paris, about the people who live there and the meaningful connections you can have with them no matter how brief or unexpected. It's these people you'll remember once you've solved each case, not the fares you charged them.

Night Call is thriller on the importance of verbal confrontation, adapting to one's interlocutor, creating fluid dialogues without necessarily complying with all their thoughts. A visual novel that is so classic, even predictable in its police nuance, but brilliant in the micro-situations we will experience in every journey.

Technical and pacing issues aside, the writing of Night Call is what makes it such a fascinating and, at times, enthralling game. Sit back with a cup of coffee and become an unofficial therapist for a few hours with this dark descent into Paris.

It’s a game with two key strands that feel forced together when they don’t really work in tandem. I like both ingredients in theory, but they don’t coalesce successfully, like how a vinaigrette salad dressing will separate into oil and vinegar until you shake it up again. Except balsamic dressing is obviously delicious. Night Call isn’t quite that. It’s not bad, though. A honey-mustard, maybe?

I thought the game would be about making you feel like a detective, piecing things together, talking to potential suspects, trying to get themI thought the game would be about making you feel like a detective, piecing things together, talking to potential suspects, trying to get them to slip up and talk, instead it was mostly talking to many characters about things seemingly unrelated to my investigation. Every now and then you will get “real” evidence or leads. But most of the time it felt like conversations were a waste of time. I wish it had more thought out conversations and a better plot to keep you at the edge of your seat. Instead it keeps you asking when will I get something useful out of this?…Full Review »